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The Study
After dinner, when the ladies retreated into the drawing room, the gentlemen would often retire to the study. It could also be a room where the family and business accounts were settled.
Gothic style was popular in Victorian studies. It suited the somber, solemn mood and Gothic architectural style suited the furniture designs typically suited the functionality of the room. Stained glass doors in book cases helped to protect the spines from sunlight. Dark woods including, mahogany, oak and black walnut were in keeping with rich, dark wallpapers and wood paneling.
The aesthetic movement was a popular way to decorate and design Victorian studys during the end of the nineteenth century. Here, pieces that had been individually crafted, rather than mass produced were believed to be more individual. Unnecessary clutter was removed and highly ornamental decoration was frowned upon.
Typical study furniture might include the following:-
- Large fireplace
- Comfortable upholstered chairs and footstools – wing chairs were typical
- Sofa – buttoned and upholstered
- Library chair – converting to form a set of steps for reaching the highest steps
- A large desk – rolltop or covered with leather inset
- Chests
- Drinks cabinets
- Billiard table
- Book cases – the study would often double as a library in all but the largest houses and mansions
- Collections- of butterflies, birds eggs and so in glass fronted cabinets and boxes hung on the walls
Accessories were along the lines of:-
- Framed photographs
- Clock
- Magazine or music holder
- Plant stands
- Pictures and plates
- Busts (of Victoria)
- Vases and urns
- Easels and sets of paint
- Thick rug in front of the fire
- Reading lamps
- Business papers and newspapers
- Tobacco jars
- Decanters of port, sherry and port with glasses
- Trophies
- Maps and globes
- Collections of coins, fossils, and curios in glass topped tables and cabinets
- Scientific toys of the day – magic lanterns, camera, bioscope, zoetrope and stereoscope
- Stuffed animals under glass domes
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